Markham is a
city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population
was 12,620 at the 2000 census.
Markham, at the southern tip
of Lake Michigan, had been a crossroad for early pioneers.
In 1861, a treaty was made with the Ottawa, Chippewa
and Potawatomi Native Americans which ceded a corridor
of land located between the mouths of the Chicago and
Calumet Rivers to the settlers. The southern boundary,
known as the Indian Boundary Line, was to run along
a line which is now Interstate 57.
The village of Markham was incorporated
in 1925 with a population under 300. In the mid-1930s,
the Croissant Park subdivision was built and increased
the population from 349 to 1,388. After World War II,
Markham's population doubled to 2,753 residents by 1950.
The village developed into a bedroom community as residents
sought homes, not industry. An airport developed at
165th Street and Kedzie Avenue, and was the nearest
field to Chicago. The airport site was located nearby
what is now the Cook County Sixth Circuit Courthouse.
On August 24, 1967 the Village of Markham was incorporated
as a city.
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